Easy question

[jeb_milne]

I'm using a PC with the 1224 MOTU and Logic. As I suspect we all know - Logic is no more - for PCs. :(

I didn't really like it anyway and want to move to another software package.

Which is THE most POPULAR sofware package used
for sound recording on a PC.

I own and run an animation company and have all PCs - so don't really want to bring a MAC into the mix.

Unless y'all tell me I should ):

Jeb
witanimation.com

[drew]

ok, you should. there.

[manning1]

if you want tight audio / midi integration and lots of midi features on the pc i use powertracks from pgmusic.com.
a new feature they have introduced recently is vocal harmony.
just try the demo. its my favorite.
some others to try - all under 80 bucks or thereabouts
are ntrack, multitrackstudio.com (very underrated imho)
and magix.de products.
perhaps if you told me whether you had a midi or an audio
focus or both. this would help.
also i would suggest to run these sort of packages at least 1.3ghz processor would be nice with 512 ram and fast hard drives.

[Ethan Winer]

Jeb,

> Which is THE most POPULAR sofware package used for sound recording on a PC. <

Sonar 4. Awesome.

www.sonar4.com

--Ethan

[SpaceChild]

It's very hard to know which one is 'most popular' since exact sales figures are never published. On the other hand, I don't think it would make any difference even if you knew which one was the most popular. Still I highly recommend Cubase.


Spacey

[lukejs]

Hi, I've been a Cakewalk user of about 6 years now, and the evolution of their software has reached a level to where I believe that it's the best pc audio/midi solution out there. From ease of use, and audi/midi integration it's the most complete. Rewire support is great...I use reason and gigastudio through rewire....and I use powercore pci plugins...... all works great ! I highly recommend it !! (I'm in Mexico....so you know I don't work for cakewalk, ok ? hahahah)

[axeman69]

If tight integration with video is a requirement, I'd go Nuendo from Steinberg systems.

[DeadPoet]

5 answers, 5 opinions...

Choose one and learn it inside out. IMO there's no good, better or best, only different flavors. I've learned Cubase years ago and still use it today, only because I know how to use it.

Differences in sound ? Maybe.

Other programs are easier to learn ? Maybe, I don't need to learn a new one.

Different feature sets ? I don't care. Even the last SX (3) doesn't thrill me.


Just realised I didn't help much... Try out a few different ones and decide then. Maybe you're a midi-programmer, maybe you're more into loops and stuff, maybe you need to make scores, maybe surround sound and/or video sync...


Herwig

[Mystr Tiger]

I'll second the Nuendo - very nice editing and it sounds very nice. Depending on your video needs, you might look into Sony Vegas.

[Jules]

Hi Jeb

I feel an important question is, will you be collaborating / sharing projects with other musicians / producers? If so you need to poll THEM and see what software they are using.

Pro Tools is pretty universal, you might like a 002 system for example.

If it's all to be done in your own place then you can use whatever you want...

Shareing sound files isn't THAT hard these days...

[Scot Solida]

As a frequent contributor to many techy music magazines, it is crucial for me to have both Mac and PCs in my studio, and they are packed with most of the major DAWs. Some work better than others on my setup (though what is stable on one PC may not be on another...).

What I have found is that while Nuendo 2 was relatively stable for me on my PC (but awful on the Mac), the latest incarnation of SX is not without problems in its Windows incarnation. Still, it is pretty good.

Sonar 4, on the other hand, is rock solid on my PC. I am really impressed by this incarnation of the Cakewalk flagship. I seriously have not had it crash once since well before it was out of beta. Most of my work is done on the Mac, but Sonar presents a fairly convincing argument to jump ship (but I won't).

Both of these products seem very professional. Sonar maybe a tiny bit more than SX (but Nuendo 3 will probably have a very pro sheen).

If you don't need much in the way of MIDI, then you might want to look to SAW Studio. This is expensive (thought there are a number of versions), but I had good experiences with it. It was solid, fast and reliable. Plus it sounded a bit nicer overall than any other package I have used on the PC.

Samplitude is one that I have not used. I know many people who are well pleased with it, but it is out of my range of knowledge.

One thing to be aware of: Sonar and SX both offer plug-in delay compensation. As a user of TC Powercore plugs, I can't imagine living without it. Heck, I wouldn't want to live without it anyhow.

Anyhow...

If I was starting over and working on a PC, I'd likely go Sonar.

As far as what is "most popular", Sonar actually toppled the mighty Cubase from the top of our reader's poll in Computer Music last year. Not bad for a DAW that never had much European presence until a few short years ago.

(btw, if you are interested, SX3 has not crashed even once on my Mac...unlike Nuendo 2)

[Mystr Tiger]

Originally posted by Scot Solida
One thing to be aware of: Sonar and SX both offer plug-in delay compensation. As a user of TC Powercore plugs, I can't imagine living without it. Heck, I wouldn't want to live without it anyhow.

Yea, good point. Nuendo and ProTools also have delay compensation - might wanna check to see what other products have this, if any. I found it nearly impossible to use my UAD card on VST/24 without delay compensation - going to Nuendo with delay comp made all the difference.